Name: Chilean Cabbage Soup
Ingredients: 1 sm green Cabbage- (abt 1 lb) finely shredded; 2 med potatoes peeled, sliced thin, and cut into fingers; 1 lrg leek washed, and sliced finely; 4 tbl butter; 6 cup vegetable or Chicken Stock; Salt to taste; Freshly-ground White Pepper to taste; 1 cup coarsely-grated Muenster Cheese

Why it works: Cabbage and leek match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 214 recipes. Both carry 1-octen-3-ol, which smells mushroom, earthy. The science ↓

Chilean Cabbage Soup

serves 6 as a first course, or four as a light meal

Time30 minutes simmering

Ingredients

1 sm green Cabbage- (abt 1 lb) finely shredded
2 med potatoes peeled, sliced thin, and cut into fingers
1 lrg leek washed, and sliced finely
4 tbl butter
6 cup vegetable or Chicken Stock
Salt to taste
Freshly-ground White Pepper to taste
1 cup coarsely-grated Muenster Cheese

Directions

Make the soup

Melt the butter over medium heat in a Dutch oven.
When bubbly, stir in the cabbage, potatoes, and leeks, tossing with a wooden spoon for about 4 to 5 minutes until the cabbage and leeks are wilted.
Pour in the stock, season to taste, bring to a boil, then reduce heat.
Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes, until the cabbage is tender.

Serve

When ready to serve, ladle into bowls and grate the cheese directly on top of each serving.
Serve hot as a first course to 6 people, or a light meal to four.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

711Calories

44 gProtein

38 gFat

49 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 8 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Chicken	100g cooked	165
Potato	1 medium (173g) baked	161
Vegetable	1 tbsp (14g)	120
Cheese	1 oz (28g) cheddar	113
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Cabbage + leektop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together214 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
Potato + leektop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together30 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
Potato + chickentop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,756 recipes

Shared aroma: (z)-4-decenal (green, must).
Butter + cheesetop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together7,962 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Cabbage + potatotop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together275 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Cabbage: Forms the body of the soup and becomes tender and sweet during simmering.
Potatoes: Break down slightly as they cook, thickening the soup and adding body.
Leek: Adds a mild onion-like sweetness and aroma to the broth.
Butter: Adds richness and carries flavour while the vegetables soften.
Muenster cheese: Melts over the hot soup, adding creamy richness and savoury flavour.

The step that matters

Wilting the cabbage, leeks and potatoes in butter. Tossing them over medium heat until just wilted softens the vegetables and draws out their sweetness before liquid is added. Browning them too hard can make the soup taste bitter.

Swap the white pepper

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cabbage, potato, leek, butter, chicken, cheese):

Thymefits better
Garlicfits better
Parsleyfits better
White pepperthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against cabbage, potato, leek, butter, chicken, cheese. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

Chicken Broth257 recipes

Potato Croquettes255 recipes

Chicken Soup156 recipes

Macaroni and Cheese102 recipes

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Chilean Cabbage Soup